‘Do I need to choose my friends based on religion?’: Woman after vigilantes disrupt her birthday at Bareilly cafe 

Police have so far arrested five people in connection with the incident. The key accused, Rishabh Thakur and Deepak Pathak, were not among them, officials said. While it was alleged that Rishabh and Deepak have links with the Bajrang Dal, the organisation’s Bareilly coordinator Aryan Chaudhary denied the claim.

Police had detained the two youths, Shaan and Waqaib, along with the café owner, Shailendra Gangwar, invoking provisions of breach of peace. They were released later on bail on personal bonds, officials had said.

Hailing from Badaun district, the woman has been living in the nursing institute’s hostel for the past four years. Her father is a farmer, and she is the eldest of two siblings.

Now staying at her aunt’s house in Bareilly, she recounted what transpired on December 27. “I had invited 40 of my classmates but only 12 could attend… Waqib and Shaan were among them,” she said. 

Around 12.30 pm, her friends assembled at the cafe. About an hour later, as she was cutting her birthday cake, the group of assailants allegedly barged in, raising slogans.

 “They started assaulting my classmates, Waqib and Shaan… they misbehaved with the others, including me, while questioning us about our religion,” she claimed. 

“My friends pleaded with them to let us leave. Although they were pushed out of the hall, the attackers continued to beat Waqib and Shaan, who suffered serious injuries,” she added, alleging that the assailants even attempted to snatch her mobile phone.

After the ruckus, she said she has not returned to her institute and has left the hostel. “I am going through depression because it has ruined my image not just locally, but across the country and even beyond. I cannot understand who gave these assailants the authority to judge people and decide who I should be friends with.”

She said her parents and relatives never objected to her having Muslim friends. “I regularly post photos with my friends on social media… I organised the birthday celebration only after asking my parents. They know who my friends are. If they have no objection, then who are these people to try to ‘guide’ me?”

She added that neither her upbringing nor her profession teaches her to judge or differentiate people on the basis of religion.

The woman further alleged that the attack appeared to be planned. “… they [the men] immediately targeted Waqib and Shaan as soon as they entered the room,” she claimed. “The police should investigate who tipped them off.”